1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a premix-type gaseous fuel burning system and more particularly concerns a burner distributor tip for projecting burning fuel from a premix-type gaseous fuel burning system to a refractory furnace surface which in turn radiates heat.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Furnaces which employ burners of the radiant type that are provided with distributor tips which project a premixed fuel-oxygen mixture toward a refractory furnace floor, wall or ceiling in which the burners are mounted so that the floor, wall or ceiling, respectively, can be heated by flames from the distributor tips and can in turn radiate heat are in wide commercial use, for example, in petroleum refineries, chemical or other process plants and in steam boilers in industrial plants. Such furnaces are typically employed to heat absorbing tubes or other surfaces positioned within the furnace at a distance away from the radiant refractory floor, wall or ceiling.
In such furnaces, it is extremely desirable to have a uniform distribution of heat within the furnace and to maximize fuel efficiency. Failure to do so can result in equipment damage due to excessive heating in some regions of the furnace, inadequate temperatures in other regions and excessive fuel costs. A nonuniform distribution of heat within the furnace is often the result of the use of burner distributor tips which do not maximize contact between the burning fuel-oxygen mixture projected therefrom and the refractory floor, wall or ceiling and which project the burning fuel-oxygen mixture in patterns resulting in turbulence and relatively increased convective heat transfer at the expense of relatively decreased radiant heat transfer.